Wynwood's converted warehouses and newer residential blocks put water heaters in exposed service areas as often as in closets. Visible pipework makes a leak easier to find and also makes corrosion at the fittings easier to see.
Warehouse conversions often leave the heater visible on a mezzanine or against a block wall, with exposed pipework that makes a leak easy to spot and equally easy to ignore. Newer residential buildings nearby use conventional closets. A unit on an open mezzanine needs its venting and its connections checked, even in this climate.